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Revelation 16:20

And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Revelation 16:20 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
  • BSB Then every island fled, and no mountain could be found.
  • NKJV Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
  • NASB And every island fled, and no mountains were found.
  • NLT And every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Every island flees and the mountains vanish. Creation itself is undone before the judgment of God.

Overview

The disappearance of islands and mountains portrays the dissolution of the present order before the awesome presence of the Judge. Such imagery echoes prophetic descriptions of the day of the Lord (e.g., Isaiah 2). It conveys that nothing in creation can stand unshaken when God acts in final judgment.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Rev 6:14And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
  • Rev 20:11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
  • Isa 2:14–17And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
  • Jer 4:23–25I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Revelation videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Revelation 16:20YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on RevelationMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.

How Revelation 16:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.